"He's going to be found wanting" - Brad Hogg wants Ruturaj Gaikwad to focus on CSK rather than wanting to play for India
Former Australian spin bowler Brad Hogg has advised CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has struggled in IPL 2022, to focus on the job at hand. Hogg said that the right-handed batter must focus on playing well for CSK instead of thinking about playing for India.
After a highly productive season in 2021, Gaikwad has looked out of touch this year and has been unable to provide his team decent starts. The 25-year old has only scored 0, 1, 1 and 16 as the defending champions lost their first four games.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Hogg said that Gaikwad should stop thinking of playing for India while donning the CSK jersey. The West Australian said:
"If Gaikwad is thinking of playing for India rather than what he can do for the team, he's going to be found wanting. Because you can't think like that. You've got to focus on what you're doing now and let everything else take care of itself."
The Pune-born batter hammered 635 runs in IPL 2021 and won the IPL Orange Cap. He averaged a healthy 45.35, scoring a hundred and four fifties as the Yellow Army clinched their fourth crown.
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All three departments, CSK have been outplayed - Brad Hogg
The 51-year old explained CSK's struggles by saying they have been woeful in all three departments, starting with their top order. The former KKR spinner observed that Gaikwad hasn't adapted well to the bouncier wickets and that IPL teams have figured him out well. Hogg said:
"Simply, they are not batting, bowling or fielding well. All three departments, they are outplayed. We go to the top of the order first - Ruturaj Gaikwad. At present, he has had his struggles on the bouncier wickets up here in Mumbai. He doesn't know whether to play the cut shot or backfoot drive; he is just flirting outside the off-stump and giving opportunities to the opposition teams."
He continued:
"Also, remember he had a breakout season last year. Now opposition teams know that he's had a couple of opportunities for India, so they'll be better planned to bowl against him in those powerplay overs, and it's working so far."
Hogg also pointed out that a change in the opening combination might have affected Gaikwad's gameplay, as Faf du Plessis was a more experienced campaigner than Gaikwad's current partner. Hogg thinks Robin Uthappa should bat down the order instead of opening, saying:
"Also, he's got a new opening combination where he is trying to get comfortable there. Faf du Plessis with more experience last year was able to bat through the innings, took a lot of pressure off Gaikwad, and now he's trying to find that from Uthappa, who is opening with him. Uthappa is a fantastic batsman, but CSK would rather have him down the order than opening the batting. But because they don't have that batting depth, they have to go with that particular combination."
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According to the IPL schedule, the defending champions will be desperate to get their campaign up and running when they face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday.